One in five teenage girls are abused by a partner, a community advocate reports

By Staff Writer

Community educators in New York are spreading awareness about the prevalence of teen dating violence in America.

According to the Queens Chronicle, one out of five teenage girls experience sexual, physical or mental abuse at the hands of a partner. In New York City, approximately 10 percent of women who go to the emergency room for incidents of physical violence are under the age of 18.

Claudia Martinez, an educator with the group Day One, recently led a workshop as part of domestic violence awareness month. She said that some teenagers in their first relationships will accept abuse as the norm because they do not know what a healthy relationship is.

She also said that cyber abuse has become more common among teen relationships. Some kids will break into their partner's Facebook account or even install a GPS system on their phone to track their whereabouts.

Martinez told the news provider that only 3 percent of young people in an abusive relationship tell their parents, 6 percent alert an authority figure and 61 percent confide in a friend.

According to LiveStrong.com, some men abuse their partners because they believe that masculinity is measured by physical aggressiveness. Some also feel they have the right to control their female partners by any means necessary.